Composition for sealing preserving-jars and other purposes.



ofiortlaniin the-coun NITE PATENT-OFFICE! ALEXANiiEE eamer .eoa'rLaND, bitEeon{ m am.

To all whom comm.

a citizen of the United States, and a resident State of Oregon, have invented a new and useful Composition for SeaimgPreserving Jars and other: Purposes, of which the followin? is a specification. a Y

' heprincipailobjectof'thepresentinvention is to provide a com osition which shallnot be materially affect by the action of the-air; which shallbecomparatively softat ordinarytemperatures andnot too'firnror brittle when cool; which shall coolfairly slowly; which shall be tough and somewhat elastic'and adhesive and cementing; which shallresist corrosive alkalies, most acids, oils and all food acids, and which shall be plastic at a little above and soft yet firm at ordinary tem eratures, and which possessed of these qua ities in whole or in part, is well adapted for use in connection with or adherence to metallic or other caps or lids for preservin vessels or fruit jars and for use in other re ations and connections.

A com osition of my invention comprises balata a ong with other compoundin substances, thus making a composition which is quite homogeneous and lastic at a moderate heat, under that of boi g water,-and uite tough yet not brittle and somewhat so at the ordinary atmospheric temperature. The composition is of grip ing qua ty, acid proof, oil proof, flexible, p astic, water proof, air proof, insect proof, and durable, and is capale of bein applied to many purposes in the commercia arts; furthermore it is comparatively inexpensive.

In application to jars or preserving packages of various kinds, my composition makes a hermeticall air tight seal. It is free from unpleasant 0 or or taste and will not taint or affect the flavor of the contents of any preserving vessels or fruit jars, it will not deteriorate or become brittle and it is sanitary and unattackable by food acids, as well as by oils. The latter pro erty renders the composition especially app icable and of greatmerit for use in connection with acking oily fish, sardines, etc. Balata is .re ativel inex ensive and is possessed of the qualities a (We recited and it imparts them to the composition. Balata does not, under the influence of air, become hard and brittle or resinous and remains quite unaffected for a long time and it is plastic at about 125 F. The composiv m, in. ceases.

of'Multnomahand geous whether the vacuum sealing Patented Aug. 10, 1909.

'ition at a comparatively low temperature will,

.whenused inconnection with or attached to the lids or covers offruit jars or preserving vessels, fill and seal not onl the space hetween the vessels or jars an covers or lids, but also spaces due to ordinary inequalities or imperfections; This quality is advanta- 'tic'ed hot or cold; that is to say, Whether the vacuum becreated by means ofa pump or theiik'e, or whether'the vacuum be created by the cooling of the previously heated contentsof the jar or vessel. Balata' cools slowly aardn'tlius there is, when the com osition is used in-or'inconnection'with the-1i s or covers of jars or vessels into'whioh the contents are placed hot and permitted to cool to form a vacuum, sufficient time for the accomplish ment of the complete sealin of the vessels or jars 3' it being understood t at the composition is in this instance heated by heat im parted by the contents of the jar or other vessel.

Balata when cooled does not become too firm or brittle, which is advanta eous when it is used in a composition applie to or used in connection with the covers of fruit jars or preserving vessels, since the latter are often ex osed to comparatively low temperatures. Ba ata in my composition enables the composition to withstand comparatively high temperatures of which 212 F. is an example, without becoming more than usefully plastic.

The principal ingredient of the compound is balata, but the best results are obtained by its use in admixture with compoundin materials. These added in redients shou d, of course like balata itself, e inert in the sense of not being deleterious under conditions of theuse or uses to which the compound may bedput and these ingredients may be varied W1 bepracely. Examples of compounding materials are barytes, magnesia, litho one, powdered charcoal, asbestos, OXld o zinc, aluminum flakes and pulverized chalk, either 15%. mong the functions of the comut examples thereof are,

pounding material or materials the following may be mentioned: At ordinary temperature or at comparatively low temperatures the compounding material or materials im art to t e composition flexibility, and at igh temperatures they impart to it the appropriate coherence or consistency, for giving it the necessary body to cause it to operate properly as a sealing compound Without being too soft.

As I have already stated the com ounding materials may be Varied widely bot in character and in quantity and I do not confine myself to the use of a combination of them, or to the proportions as set forth of either balata or compounding materials.

The ingredients of this composition may be brought into a homogeneous plastic state by means of mixing rollers and other appropriate means and worked up into the form of washers, gaskets, or other articles adapted to the intended use. Since the ingredients are mechanically mixed the composition may be said to be raw in the sense that it is not vulcanized.

What I claim is:

1. A plastic raw sealing composition consisting of balata and a compounding material, and soft and coherent and adhesive when hot and flexible when cold, substancomposition flexibility at relatively low temperatures and appropriatecoherence at relatively high temperatures, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the resence of witnesses.

ALEXANDER H. KERR. Witnesses:

A. SEOHTEM, J. H. ALLEN.

, aluminium 

